FIRE & RENEWAL
“I frequently use my own backyard dinners, string lights in my trees or the nature that surrounds me as motifs for my paintings. I pull from my own experiences, believing that the personal can speak universally. With the 2020 California wildfires , my connection to the landscape as well as to painting became much more profound. I was evacuated three times and for thirty days, took shelter in a hotel in Napa with my cat Smiley. Much of my neighborhood became the path and charred remains of the Glass fire. My home was saved by firefighters and when I returned, I found the landscape blackened and covered in ash, a painful reminder of how life can change in an instant.
The wildfire events gave me a sense of urgency about painting. Until now, I have never used my process so overtly to work through my own trauma and grief. It pulls and weighs with an enormous sense of gravity. I am confronting the security of my own existence as well as the wildlife whose habitat I share.
I look for beauty and find it; In the contour lines now visible of the hills and in the electric green grasses pushed up from a carbon rich earth after the winter rains. Two years on, the songs of wildlife fill the air and there are families of new sprouts bursting at the base of the trees. Hope prevails, the renewal begins and painting continues. “
What About Us? tree trunk charcoal & oil paint on paper 30 x 44” 2021 $4500..
“During 2021, I met with families whose homes were lost to the fire, hearing their stories of loss. With their support, I pulled artifacts from the ashes and then used them as part of an organic chandelier. Along with burned Manzanita, crystals, and lights, I wanted to honor what was lost by creating beauty and light. Reflections on Daily Life: Artifacts from the Glass Fire was installed in Lyman Park for ten days. The event closed with a First Nation Community Blessing and a call for healing by Julian and Lupe Medel.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following people and organizations for helping me with this two year project…
Napa Valley College, Amanda Badgett, Neil Harvey, Ann Trinca, Kelly Tanita and BAD MELON CREATIVE, Nimbus Arts, Jamie Graff, David Garden, Shannon and Christina Kelly, the city of St. Helena, Rob Watermeyer/the Frameworks, Ziggy Attius and Beulah Van Rensburg at Chateau Orquevaux, France and a special thank you to the Osbourne, Velasquez, Mutrux, Martin & Lussier families for sharing their stories and artifacts with me.
This project has been funded in part by grants from the Center for Cultural Innovation and the Arts Council Napa Valley.